Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: The World's Bestselling Bicycle Repair and Maintenance Guide

This book is a great source of information. To date my mountain bike hasn't needed any maintenance since it's first service (it's only 9 months old) but I've often been concerned about what I'd do if it did break on me. If I could get it home it's a short walk to a bike shop where they can service or fix it, but if it broke down 15 miles from home that's a long way to push or carry it back. The guy at my local bike shop I had come to trust didn't seem to be there much and his replacement seemed more interested in selling me stuff than making sure it was the right stuff for me, so I was reluctant to ask his advice. So I bought this book. I'm balanced between a geek who wants to dismantle everything to see how it works, to being reluctant to take parts off in case they don't go back properly. But reading this makes it clear that I can do what's needed, and the tools to fix the bike to a point I can get it back home come what may aren't daunting and aren't intimidating. Despite having precisely no experience of doing anything with a bike beyond riding it and cleaning it - the biggest adjustment I've made to date is changing the height of the (quick release) saddle - this book really gives me the confidence to take to the bike with spanners and screwdrivers. Although I haven't had to actually put it to the test yet I can see the pictures and descriptions in the book, compare them to what I see on my bike, and have the confidence to do what's needed. The book has different sections about different aspects of the bike - the brakes, the gears, and so on. It also has a section on repairs in the field (i.e. how to do enough to get home safely even if you then need to fix it properly) and comments on general trail safety (much of which sounds like common sense but casualty figures might suggest otherwise). It uses diagrams rather than photos, which is good because you can see what parts to expect to encounter and in what order. It also gives four levels of tool sets required. Level 1 is the most basic, consisting largely of spanners and screwdrivers. Level 4 is the most advanced, which is the kind of thing you might want if you're doing bike maintenance for a living. The vast majority of the processes described are level 1, and it includes clear icons in the text to show if it's a higher level. That gives people like me an early warning to just take the bike to the shop for service rather than getting out of my depth and ending up taking a bag of bits to the bike shop for reassembly. Just for good measure the guy I trust at my local bike shop is back. This is the guy who spent half an hour talking to me about bike tools and instead of selling me what he had, gave me lots of advice, gave me some pointers what to look for online and said he could order what I needed - he must know as well as I do that there's nothing to stop me looking online and then buying from someone who will undercut him. When I mentioned that I'd bought this book he left me in no doubt I'd done the right thing.

This is a near perfect book on road bike maintenance. There's no point in me going much further than that. If you need to know what to do on your road bike, why to do it, and which tools you need - here you go. The author writes with a lovely manner, making it a relaxed yet precise, comprehensive and easy to follow guide. The binding of the book and the paper it's printed on are lovely quality too - that perhaps doesn't matter to most of us, but I'd expect it to handle years of heavy use without it falling apart. I read some negative reviews on amazon - I'd say that different people prefer different ways of presenting information and of course this book will not suit everyone, but I would say it will suit the vast majority of people out there looking for the best in road bike maintenance guides. Simply one of the best reference books I own.

I'm relatively new to the self maintenance of my bikes, so after giving up on hit and miss results with youtube decided to order a decent book as a guide for maintenance. After reading a lot of reviews decided on this one...after having to do some work on my bike I have to say I am very happy with the book...detailed descriptions and Zinn goes over everything very thoroughly. This book also has a detailed maintenance schedule wich can lessen the odds of you having a major malfunction a 100 miles from home. Buy this book if you have basic knowledge of bicycle maintenance and want to further your knowledge on cycling and bike maintenance. If you are cant stand technical information and just want a basic book to help you out, you are probably better off with the Park Tools bicycle maintenance guide or a lot of patience on youtube

this arrived with a real "thud" it's nearly an inch thick and the size of an old encyclopedia brittanica the contents don't disappoint - everything from what to take on a short ride (inner tube, tyre levers, drink!) through to building your own wheels (which I haven't tested!) I wanted to look at head-bearings and here you have a complete description of the various systems from the old threaded type to various stem systems in use by different makers both Campag and Shimano systems are described, right up to the new electronic shifters diagrams are simple and clear at the back are torque tables, gear ratio tables and advice on bike fitting I'll never use everything in this book but rather dip in and out and I'm very glad I bought it

The thing about maintaining Bikes, especially road bikes, is that you don't get much in the way of instructions with them. If you are practically minded, then you want to do things yourself, but what is the best way to fix a problem, or to keep things healthy? This book covers almost every base you can imagine with respect to road and cyclocross bikes. I maintain both, with different group sets, braking systems and frame materials. Despite that, this book covers everything I need to know. I have used this as a reference for a number of upgrades and fixes, and it it has never let me down. It is also worth mentioning that because it is so well written, I have read sections of this book as a reference, simply to learn more about the practical mechanical operation of the subsystems on my bikes. The illustrations are nice, hand drawn in many cases, but really clear. There is no such thing as a comprehensive guide to anything, but if you want a good technical reference for maintaining a bike, this is the one to start with. I cant really find any fault with it. A formidable achievement for the author I think, a proper contribution to the understanding of anyone who owns a copy and doesn't already have a knowledge base in the field.

Lettura abbastanza semplice anche se non si è proprio ferrati in inglese, ci sono proprio tutti i consigli per riparare una bici da soli.

This is a well written, well illustrated universal manual for servicing mountain bikes. I am a retired mechanic and know about bearings and fasteners and lubrication, but bikes have particular requirements and that information is difficult to find. I like that it runs from a low level of expertise to a high level for experienced folks. The illustrations are very helpful. It is a great reference, not something you read cover to cover. The sections on suspension and drive trains is well done

Es lo que esperaba. Datos y explicaciones.

I'm getting really interested in road cycling and a lot of people recommended this book for home repairs and for improving the general knowledge of how road bikes work. I am not dissapointed. I'm going to learn so much. Can't wait!

I have had many years of wrenching on cars and bikes alike. I felt that this book was a great all-in-one general maintenance book for Road Bike Maintenance. It does not give every single detail that is possible for all parts (e.g. shimano brakes, it doesn't tell give you a parts breakdown like one would if you went to the manufacture site and downloaded their technical documents). ***TIP for specific instructions for bike parts: most manufactures will post up online detailed technical specifications for each part and some will even post a parts breakdown document as well. Many of my opinions are also formed based upon my maintenance use and owner ship of the Park Tool Big Blue Book 2nd Edition (which should be the current edition). Hands down, this book is much better than the Park Tools book, for it is much more detailed in many areas that the Park Tools book lacks. This book covers most of the popular designs and manufactures (e.g. different shifting systems including campagnolo, shimano, and sram). It also details the differences between the companies as well on certain parts that need attention because of the unique design by the company. The book does a great job at sorting the different repair tasks by three different levels, which most takes I feel are generally level 2. Not only that, it also gives an overview of different type of maintenance tool sets one should have from level 1, the basic level tool kit for the beginner, to level 3 + tools that a shop should own. Zinn also explains each of the parts for every kit level as well. I feel they do a pretty good job overall on giving a easy to follow guideline as to what common tools are needed for each of the different levels of repair difficulties. For the new bike maintenance person, this book provides a comprehensive view of what it takes to wrench on a road bike (which I believe just about everyone can manage (if they proceed carefully and slowly). Also, the writing style is extremely simple to follow and believe or not written in an encouraging manner that it makes a person feel they can repair anything on their road bike. This book does not give advise onto which brands to get for all the tools (although they do have some recommendations for certain tools interspersed throughout the book). But it gives enough advise to pretty much get most things and help guide a person onto which tools to look for and which ones may be avoided. This is a great book for those who do not have an all-in-one reference book. It is cheap and affordable and definitely worth the small amount you pay for it. I don't know right now if it is offered as a digital book, but if it ever does, I'd personally continue to pick up the paper version, since having a physical book in the workshop is much better than digital! Happy Wrenching!